Part 2: When the Media Chooses the Candidates
This article is preserved as part of the historical record of this blog. It reflects the author's views at the time of publication. The content has not been substantively altered, although the HTML, accessibility and formatting have been updated to meet modern web standards.
Ron Paul is the standard bearer of the modern Libertarian movement who advocates small government, low taxes and civil liberty or, as it is more accurately described, freedom from government.
Ron Paul started life as an obstetrician and gynaecologist and practised what he preached; his practice would not participate in any federal health programmes, which meant that they saw all Medicare and Medicaid patients free of charge, and they were treated just like all of the other patients, but they were not charged and the practice did not accept federal funds.
"Some of the people would bring chickens, or they would bring vegetables from their garden if they couldn't afford to pay for their obstetrical fee," recalls Richard Hardoin, a paediatrician who used to care for the babies Paul delivered.
A long time interest in economics, particularly the Austrian School, convinced Dr Paul to set up a numismatic company buying and selling gold and silver coins in 1971 when the United States cancelled the Bretton Woods Agreement (which guaranteed every $35 with one troy ounce of fine gold). He recognised then that this would lead to uncontrolled spending and unlimited inflation - and put his money where his mouth was.
In 1976 he was one of only six Representatives to back the candidacy of Ronald Reagan although he backed away from supporting Reagan once he was elected because Reagan moved away from the position on which he was elected.
Ron Paul does not change his mind. He tells you in advance what to expect and what he says has support throughout the USA.
A close examination of the presidential nomination race identifies that there are two candidates - Mitt Romney, a middle of the road guy, and Ron Paul. But to read the media the race has always been Mitt Romney and A.N.Other. First it was Michele Bachmann, who topped the Iowa Straw Poll just eight votes ahead of Paul, but her star waned and Rick Perry became the centre of media attention. Perry himself is now fading fast and so Herman Cain became the media darling. Cain, upon closer scrutiny, also began to lose ground and so Newt Gingrich was brought in as a replacement. Each wave of media hype brings a candidate to the fore only to see them wane when they are subjected to debate.
Through it all Paul remained consistent across the nation. His support was particularly strong amongst past and present US servicemen and younger voters. His support was consistent and unwavering and, most importantly, he consistently beat Obama in head to head opinion polls, whereas Romney did not.
You would think that the Republican Party would be keen to nominate him, but the media, who are funded by Corporate America through advertising revenues, know that he will not be bought and paid for by special interests and lobbyists and thus is a threat to their future revenues. The future of the US media lies in the status quo and so they seek a big government, high spending candidate to oppose the big government, high spending Obama.
Historical Archive Update: This page was updated on 26 July 2026. The content has been preserved as originally published. This update was undertaken solely to modernise the HTML markup, improve accessibility, correct obvious spelling mistakes and grammatical slips, update obsolete links where appropriate, and bring the page into line with current web standards.
Comments
Post a Comment